From the roaring crowds of Friday Night Lights to the intense competition of Seminary Hill Cup, this fall was a season to remember for SSSAS athletics. Across the board, our sports teams have been putting in hours of hard work, demonstrating incredible dedication, and achieving impressive feats. Here, we take a closer look at the star athletes and captains of our varsity boys soccer, girls tennis, and cross country teams, sharing their stories, challenges, and what motivates them to succeed.
Boys Soccer
One of the most surprising stories coming out of this fall season has been the almost complete revival of the boys’ varsity soccer program. After the 2024 season left something to be desired for both coaches and players, the boys are back stronger than ever and have worked hard to leave a solid imprint on both the IAC and the state conference leaderboards. To get a closer look at what is driving this resurgence, I sat down with senior captains Charlie Desautels ‘26 and Jack Ryan ‘26 to hear their thoughts on the 2025 season.
Desautels and Ryan both agreed that the season has gone “pretty well” so far, and there have definitely been ups and downs for the team. Desautels remarked that the team is “full of a lot of talented players, but at times we struggle to put it all together.” Ryan added onto this, saying, “I felt like we’ve grown from the first day of tryouts together. It’s just really just a close bond of players who turned into family.”
Both agreed that this season has definitely been an improvement over past seasons and that the team is working together a lot better than in past years. Desautels noted that “everybody has chipped into the mentality and the approach that we want to win games. I think the intensity that we played with has been excellent. I think we just need to keep it up to keep getting good results.”
Ryan continued by saying that every game has been close, and even times when they’ve lost, “it’s always been by one goal due to a mistake. And in past seasons when we’ve lost, there was always a large goal differential.” He finished by saying that they have had the mentality of “let’s show other teams in the IAC who expect us to be bad what we’re made of” and “let’s create an upset.”
Jack Ryan pointed to the biggest challenge for boys’ soccer this season, emphasizing that it has been “all mental.” He expressed that “every time that we play another team, we always think, they are so much better than us, they have this record, they have these players, they recruit, we don’t.” Ryan believes that the only roadblock preventing the team from going all the way is the mindset they bring to games. However, he notes that the team has been “hard at work perfecting a mindset to set us up for success against any team.”
Saints boys soccer has had some memorable moments this season, ranging from a comeback tie against Collegiate, from 3-0 to 3-3, to a last-second overtime free kick from Oliver Saltiel ‘28 against Georgetown Prep to win 2-1. Another tradition that Jack Ryan pointed out from this season has been the “pre-game speeches and texts from some of my teammates. Bishop Hart ‘26 and Chase Reischauer ‘26 do a great job of hyping the team up right before a big game.”
Both Desautels and Ryan agree that the team’s biggest motivators this year have been the “bench mob,” led by their spirited and chosen captain, Bishop Hart. From the sidelines, Hart and crew inject the team with their infectious energy, leading chants and inspiring passion in every player on the field.
Finally, Desautels remarked that his big picture goal for the season is to win a playoff game. Desautels has played varsity soccer for four years and has yet to win a playoff game, so he would love to “make a run in either the IAC or the state tournament.” He believes that it is extremely important to “keep practicing with the same intensity, keep working hard in games, and I think our goals could become reality.”
Girls tennis
Another team that has been doing extremely well is girls tennis, with a current record of 8-3 and being number 7 in the state and ISL regular season co-champions. The JV team had a record of 10-0, remaining undefeated, making this one of the best seasons for the girls’ tennis team.
“This season we’re doing a lot better, record-wise, which is good, but similar to the other two seasons, our team is just very close with each other.” Caroline Schuyler, a junior and one of the current varsity captains. Her hope for the team this year is for them to remain focused and continue to give full effort on the court, and continue to do well in the playoffs.
Elliott Smith, a sophomore varsity tennis player, said, “I think it has gone pretty well, especially because we are the ISL co-champs of our division.” With states approaching, she is hoping they continue to play as they have and is excited to see how far they go.
Elliott enjoyed the dance and the bonding experience it brought, saying, “The most memorable part of this season was the Seminary Hill Cup dance, because we were the reigning champions from last year.” Both Caroline and Elliott think the team this year is very supportive and close-knit, like it has been in previous years.
The team has worked together and motivated each other, but has had specific people who continue to motivate and encourage the team. Elliot says, “The biggest motivator for our team is Coach Kinde and our senior captains Sophie Richardson and Gigi Barrett, who give us pep talks before our matches and encourage us on the court.” For the rest of the season, both Caroline and Elliott think their team needs to continue to stay consistent and focused.
Cross Country
Cross country has had a successful season with both boys and girls working their way up the leaderboard and cutting down their times. With huge accomplishments like all the girls at Seminary Hill Cup setting new personal records, the team has advanced and improved significantly over the season.
Liam Riedy, a sophomore at SSSAS, also thinks this season has been a great season with improvement from everyone on the team. “I think this season the team has been really competitive and different from how it has been in previous years.”
With the help of coaches and the supportive environment of the team, both girls and boys have been making this cross-country season one of the best it has had. Henry Krebs, a sophomore at SSSAS says “I think this is one of the coolest seasons ever, for any sport I have ever been in.” For the boys’ side of the team, there are currently four boys who hold spots on the record board. Liam also thinks there are improvements the team can make, “From a team standpoint, there is definitely still room for improvement and having more than four boys on the record board would be ideal.”
Avery Gibian, a sophomore, is currently eighth on the leaderboard. This is her first year running cross country. She is proud of how the team has performed and is hoping for the team to continue to move their way up the leaderboard. “We are also hoping to beat Episcopal” after a sad loss against them in the Seminary Hill Cup. Avery said her current favorite memory is her race at Oatlands because, although it was difficult, she was able to set a new personal record. But she says that all races and the energy at every race are exciting and memorable. Although the team is doing well, some setbacks have been affecting them: “Over half our team struggles with injuries and a lot of them are shin splints,” says Avery.
Even with these setbacks, the team has shown incredible determination and continued to move up the leaderboard, with Sydney Wanamacker currently in second place and Henry Krebs currently holding second place on the leaderboard for boys. For the rest of the season, the cross country team is aiming to continue to improve their times and continue to compete with other teams. Good luck to the cross country team with the rest of their season!
